Synthetic resin bottle

ABSTRACT

A blow-molded synthetic resin bottle that can be fully flattened and easily restored to an original shape. The bottle includes at least a line of turn is formed on the shoulder, the body, and the bottom along the entire vertical circumference. Among the sections divided by this line of turn, at least a section is used as a shell section in which at least a nearly entire body portion of this section has relatively high rigidity. The other section is a reversible section in which at least a nearly entire body portion has relatively low rigidity and is capable of being deformed by resilient reversion. The neck is disposed on the shoulder, and the reversible section can be deformed and easily concaved into the shell section for volume reduction and then can be restored to the original shape.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a synthetic resin bottle of a configurationthat the bottle can be deformed to reduce its volume easily and then isrestored to its original shape for use as a bottle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Synthetic resin bottles are in wide use as the containers for variousliquid contents. These bottles are molded by using blow molding orbiaxial-drawing, blow-molding means.

This synthetic resin bottle has an advantage of lightweight. On theother hand, because of bulkiness and large space of occupancy, a problemof high storage and transportation costs are caused during the processin which bottles are molded by the bottle manufacturers, delivered toproduct manufacturers, and filled with liquids. Handling of bulkybottles is also troublesome.

After use, the used bottles are usually flattened with hands or feet toreduce the volume of the bottle and to facilitate waste disposal. Thebottles had a problem in that everyone cannot always flatten bottleseasily and steadily.

Utility model laid open No. 1985-75212 describes a technique aimed ateasily flattening bottles at the time of waste disposal.

The synthetic resin bottle described in this utility model is providedwith a pair of ribs at the axisymmetric positions on the body. Inaddition to these ribs, arc ribs are also provided on the shoulder andat the lower end of the body. When the bottle is put to waste disposal,the portion surrounded by the ribs is pressed to let the body cave inand deform so that volume reduction can be achieved.

However, in this conventional art, the concaved portion ranges from theshoulder to the lower end of the body, with neck and bottom retainingthe original shapes. Because of this limitation, the bottle had troublein that the entire bottle cannot be pressed flat and deformed. Sincethese ribs are aimed at flattening the bottle at the time of wastedisposal, it was almost impossible to restore the original shape of thebottle once the bottle has been forced to cave in.

This invention has thus been made to solve the problems of theabove-described conventional art. The technical problem of thisinvention is to deform the bottle easily in a volume-reducing manneruntil the bottle is fully flat and then to be able to restore theoriginal shape as a bottle from the flat or concaved state. Thus, anobject of this invention is to make bottle handling easy and efficientduring the process from molding to the filling of bottles with contentsand at the time of bottle disposal as waste, and the reduction of thecost.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments may include a blow-molded synthetic resin bottleincluding at least one line of turn formed on the shoulder, the body,and the bottom, formed along an entire vertical circumference of thebottle, and dividing the bottle into sections, the sections including:at least one shell section located on one side of the line of turn, theshell section including a substantially high rigidity; at least onereversible section located on another side of the line of turn, thereversible section including a substantially low rigidity such that thereversible section is deformable by resilient reversion; and a neckdisposed only on a portion of the shoulder that is located on the oneside of the line of turn in which the shell section is located, whereinthe reversible section may be easily deformed from an original shape toa concave shape that may be received by the shell section and thenrestored back to the original shape by the resilient reversion.

Owing to the above configuration of the exemplary embodiments, thebottle molded by the bottle manufacturer is reversed from the line ofturn by pressing the less rigid reversible section inward and concavingthis section toward the inside of the shell section to reduce the volumeof the bottle.

Commercial product manufacturers should be able to reverse the concavedreversible section again outward, by using air pressure and the like, torestore the original shape. The restored bottle can then be filled witha liquid content to complete a commercial product. Or the manufacturerscan fill the concaved bottle directly with a liquid content. In thatcase, the liquid filling force acts on the concaved reversible sectionto turn the section outward. The liquid filling operation is continueduntil the bottle is full and ready for merchandising.

When the bottle is used and discarded as waste, the reversible sectionis again concaved to reduce the volume, and the flattened bottle isdisposed of as waste.

Exemplary embodiments may include a line of turn formed at the positiondividing the plan-view shapes of the shoulder, the body, and the bottominto two equal, right and left, parts; that the shell section includes amajor-diameter portion, which is a half on one side of this line ofturn, where the plan view of the body roughly forms an arc-like convexsurface having a larger diameter; and that the reversible sectionincludes a minor-diameter portion, which is the remaining half on theother side of this line of turn, where the plan view of the body roughlyforms an arc-like convex surface having a smaller diameter.

Because of the above configuration of the exemplary embodiments, thereversible section protruding in an arc-like convex surface can bedeformed inward and concaved into the inside of the shell sectionprotruding likewise in an arc-like convex surface but having a largerdiameter than the reversible section. Thus, it is possible to flattenthe bottle in a certain shape. Since the flat bottles can be easilypiled up, the bottles before use can be stored and transported, or thebottles after use can be handled for waste disposal, more efficientlyand at a lower cost than the bottles retaining the original shape.

Exemplary embodiments may include the neck disposed so as to stand onthe shoulder at the upper end of the shell section.

Because, in the above configuration of the exemplary embodiments, theneck disposed on the shell section side, the entire bottle can beflattened without crushing the neck. Therefore, it is possible toconcave and deform easily the halves of the shoulder, the body, and thebottom, or almost a half of the bottle.

Exemplary embodiments may include the neck disposed to stand in thecenter of the shoulder and that a line of turn is formed at the positiondividing the plan-view shapes of the shoulder, the body, and the bottomaxisymmetrically into two equal, right and left, parts.

Because, in the above configuration of the exemplary embodiments, ashell section and a reversible section are formed also at the neck, theentire bottle can be fully flattened to reduce the volume, over all theheight from neck to bottom.

Exemplary embodiments may include a pair of lines of turn formed atroughly symmetrical positions in the plan view of the shoulder, thebody, and the bottom; that among the sections divided by these two linesof turn, the shell section is the central portion where side walls ofthe body face each other; and that the reversible sections are the twoportions disposed on both sides of the shell section, with eachreversible section having an arc-like convex surface protruding outwardin the plan view of the body.

In the above configuration of the exemplary embodiments, the bottle canbe deformed and concaved into the inside of the shell section located inthe center, by pressing both reversible sections inward to reverse thesesection resiliently. As a result, both reversible sections are concavedand accommodated inside the shell section, where the plan-view shape ofthe entire body including the bottom roughly forms a rectangle. Thus, itbecomes possible to flatten the bottle to an extent enough to reduce itsvolume.

The bottle according to the above exemplary embodiments excels at bottlehandling because the bottle stands fully on its own due to the shellsection in the center.

Exemplary embodiments may include the bottle being molded from arelatively soft synthetic resin so as to have a thin wall and that on atleast either one of the inner surface or the outer surface of the shellsection, the most part of at least the body surface is laminated withanother layer.

In the above configuration of the exemplary embodiments, the laminatedbottle wall is given higher rigidity than the non-laminated wallportion, where the bottle is molded to have a thin wall. Since there isno need to change the wall thickness of the bottle itself, the bottlescan be easily manufactured by means of an ordinary blow molding method,while securing high productivity.

Exemplary embodiments may further include a relatively thick, hard labelis laminated over the outer surface of the body.

In the above configuration of the exemplary embodiments, a label islaminated over the entire outer surface of at least the body portion inone section of the bottle divided by the line of turn. This labelenables the shell section to be formed easily at a low cost. Highdecorative effect and high display effect can be obtained since it ispossible for the label to have a wide display area.

In addition, the rigidity of the shell section is fully enhanced, andthe bottle shows high shape-holding power. Because of these features,the bottle shape becomes stabilized and constant when the bottle isdeformed for volume reduction and when it is restored to the originalshape. The bottle can be allowed to have thin walls with no difficulty,by making the label serve as a structural material.

Exemplary embodiments may include the shell section of the bottle beingmolded so as to have an ordinary thick wall, with the reversible sectionbeing molded so as to have a relatively thin wall.

In the above configuration of the exemplary embodiments, the shellsection and the reversible section can be formed simultaneously with themolding of the bottle. Depending on the parts of the bottle, the wallthickness ratio of the shell section to the reversible section ischanged so that the rigidity of both sections may be adjusted finely andprecisely. Thus, it becomes quite easy to reverse the reversible sectionof the entire bottle toward the shell section and in turn to restore theoriginal bottle shape.

Exemplary embodiments may include the line of turn including a slopedstep.

In the above configuration of the exemplary embodiments, the line ofturn has a sloped step structure, which makes it easy to reverse anddeform the reversible section and makes it much easier for thereversible section to be concaved and then restored to its originalshape. Since the reversible section is deformed and reversed withoutcausing permanent deformation, no outer appearance is damaged byreversible deformation.

Exemplary embodiments may include the line of turn including a shallowV-shape groove.

In the above configuration of the exemplary embodiments, the reversiblesection can be reversed quite easily and precisely.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partly cross-sectional side view showing a first exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a partly cross-sectional plan view of the exemplary embodimentshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a second exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the exemplary embodiment shown inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partly cross-sectional plan view of the exemplary embodimentshown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a partly cross-sectional side view showing a third exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 7 is a partly cross-sectional plan view of the exemplary embodimentshown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partly broken, plan view showing a fourth exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 9 is a partly broken, front elevational view showing a sixthexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a partly broken plan view of the exemplary embodiment shownin FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

This invention is further described as to its preferred embodiments, nowreferring to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a blow-molded synthetic resin bottle in the firstembodiment of this invention. The bottle 1 is formed by blow molding asuitable synthetic resin material so that the plan view of the bottle 1has a roughly elliptic shape. A cylindrical neck 11 is disposed to standon the shoulder 2 on one side of the long axis of the ellipse.

A line of turn 5 in the shape of a sloped step is disposed at thepositions on the long axis, i.e., at the axisymmetrical positions of thebottle 1, around the entire circumference in the vertical direction ofthe bottle 1, including the shoulder 2, the body 3, and the bottom 4.

A major-diameter portion 6 occupies a half of the bottle 1 as divided bythis line of turn 5 (the left side in FIG. 1). This portion is molded tohave an ordinary thick wall and is used as the shell section 8, whichhas relatively high rigidity and is easy to grab.

The minor-diameter portion 9 occupies the other half of the bottle 1 asdivided by the line of turn 5 (the right side in FIG. 1). This portion 9has a somewhat smaller diameter and a thinner wall thickness than themajor-diameter portion 6 and is used as the reversible section 10, whichcan be deformed in a resiliently reversible manner.

Therefore, this reversible section 10 is resiliently reversed simply bypressing it inward, with the line of turn 5 serving as the fulcrum. Thereversible section 10 is entirely concaved into the inside of the shellsection 8, as shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIGS. 1 and 2, andcan be easily restored to its original shape by applying a force in theopposite direction and reversing this section outward.

Because of relatively high rigidity, the shell section 8 has also a goodbuckling strength and the hardness enough to be able to grab the bottle.Therefore, the bottle can be held and handled in the same way asordinary bottles. The bottle of this invention has no disadvantage ofconventional volume-reducing bottles, which are too soft to hold thebottle firmly with a hand.

It is preferred that the reversible section 10 has a wall thickness ⅔ orless of the shell section 8.

FIGS. 3–5 show a synthetic resin bottle in the second embodiment of thisinvention. The overall shape of the bottle 1, the shape and position ofthe line of turn 5, and the like, are similar to those of the bottle inthe first embodiment. FIGS. 3–5 show a cap 12 that has been fitteddetachably around neck 11.

The bottle 1 is molded by blow molding a suitable, relatively softsynthetic resin to give a thin wall thickness on the whole and to have aroughly elliptic shape in its entire plan view.

A hard, relatively thick label 7 a of a paper material is attached tonearly all the outer surface of the body 3 in the major-diameter portion6 by means of insert molding or lamination. This major-diameter portion6 is used as the shell section 8 having relatively high rigidity; thethin minor-diameter portion 9 is used as the reversible section 10.

This reversible section 10 is resiliently reversed simply by pressing itinward, with the line of turn 5 serving as the fulcrum. The reversiblesection 10 is entirely concaved into the inside of the shell section 8,as shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIGS. 3 and 5, and can beeasily restored to its original shape by applying a force in theopposite direction and reversing this section outward.

Because of relatively high rigidity, the shell section 8 has also a goodbuckling strength and the hardness enough to be able to grab the bottle.Therefore, the bottle can be held and handled in the same way asordinary bottles. The bottle of this invention has no disadvantage ofconventional volume-reducing bottles, which are too soft to hold thebottle firmly with a hand.

If a thick, hard paper material is used as the label 7 a, the bottle 1is able to maintain its own shape stably, and further thin wall can bepromoted for the bottle 1. Depending on how much wall thickness can bereduced, easy bottle handling can be achieved for waste disposal.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a synthetic resin bottle in the third embodiment ofthis invention. The overall shape of the bottle 1, the shape andposition of the line of turn 5, and the like, are similar to those ofthe bottle in the first or second embodiment. The bottle 1 is molded byblow molding a relatively soft synthetic resin, such as low-densitypolyethylene, to have a thin wall thickness and to give the bottle 1 aroughly elliptic shape in its plan view.

Furthermore, the entire outer surface of the major-diameter portion 6 islaminated with an outer layer 7 b by means of insert molding orco-extrusion. This outer layer 7 b is made of a relatively hardsynthetic resin material, such as high-density polyethylene, so that themajor-diameter portion 6 can be sufficiently used as the shell section 8having high rigidity.

Like the first and second embodiments, the reversible section 10 in thethird embodiment is resiliently reversed simply by pressing it inward,and is entirely concaved into the inside of the shell section 8, asshown by a chain double-dashed line in FIGS. 6 and 7. The reversiblesection 10 can then be easily restored to its original shape by applyinga force in the opposite direction and reversing this section outward.

Because of the lamination with a relatively hard synthetic resinmaterial, such as high-density polyethylene, the shell section 8 hashigh rigidity and also a good buckling strength and the hardness enoughto be able to grab the bottle. Therefore, the bottle can be held andhandled in the same way as ordinary bottles. The bottle of thisinvention has no disadvantage of conventional volume-reducing bottles,which are too soft to hold the bottle firmly with a hand, and shows astable “seating” function due to its high rigidity. If necessary, legsmay be disposed under the bottom.

FIG. 8 shows a synthetic resin bottle in the fourth embodiment of thisinvention. Unlike the third embodiment, in which the outer layer 7 b islaminated to form the shell section 8, the fourth embodiment employs ameans of co-extrusion, etc., to laminate an inner layer 7 c over theentire inner surface of the major-diameter portion 6. This inner layer 7c is made of a relatively hard synthetic resin material, such ashigh-density polyethylene, and thus, the inner layer 7 c turns themajor-diameter portion 6 into the shell section 8 having high rigidity.

FIGS. 9–11 show a synthetic resin bottle in the sixth fifth embodimentof this invention. The bottle 1 of this embodiment is formed by blowmolding a synthetic resin material, and comprises a pair of flat centralwalls 15 facing each other, a pair of hog-backed walls 16 having anearly arc shape in the plan view and protruding right- and leftwardfrom the central walls 15, and tapered walls 17 and 18 disposed at theupper and lower ends of each hog-backed wall 16.

The shoulder 2 allows the neck 11 to stand thereon, has a roughlyrectangular shape on the plan view, and is disposed on the upper part ofthe body 3. The bottom 4 has also a roughly rectangular shape, and isdisposed on the lower part of the body 3, as if the bottom 4 is anextension of the flat central wall 15 of the body 3. In the centralframe, the bottle 1 has a configuration that, except for the neck 11,flat walls surround the central portion along the nearly entire verticalcircumference.

The shoulder 2, the bottom 4, and the central walls 15 of the body 3 aremolded to have an ordinary thick wall so that the shell section 8 withhigh rigidity is formed. A pair of right and left hog-backed walls isconnected to the shoulder 2 and the bottom 4 through the tapered walls17 and 18, respectively. Each hog-backed wall 16 protrudes outward for amaximum length corresponding to about a half of the central wall width,and has a relatively thin wall thickness. The tapered walls 17, 18 alsohave a thin wall thickness, and together with the hog-backed walls 16,constitute the reversible sections 10.

The lines of turn 5 in the shape of a shallow V groove for wall bendingare formed on the surface along the border between the shell section 8and both reversible sections 10.

When both reversible sections 10 are pressed inward, they areresiliently reversed from the respective lines of turn 5 and areconcaved into the inside of the shell section 8 for volume reduction(See the chain two-dash line in FIGS. 9 and 10). The reversible sections10 are easily restored to the original shape by applying an outwardforce in the opposite direction to reverse again these sections 10.

The reversible sections 10 of the bottle in this embodiment are concavedand stored inside of the central shell section 8 of a rectangular shapein its plan view, which includes the body 3 and the bottom 4. Therefore,it becomes possible for the bottle 1 to be fully concaved for volumereduction. As described above, the central shell section 8 has aconfiguration that flat walls surround the central portion along thenearly entire vertical circumference. Even in the volume-reduced state,the bottle 1 of this embodiment can fully stand on its own and has goodhandling ability.

In the fifth embodiment, the portion used as the shell section 8 and theportion or portions used as the reversible section or sections 10 areformed so as to have different wall thicknesses at the time of molding.However, even with these bottles, the entire bottle 1 can be molded tohave a thin wall thickness. Then, a label is attached, or an outer orinner layer is laminated, to form the shell section 8, as distinguishedfrom the reversible section or sections 10, as shown in the second,third, and fourth embodiments.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

This invention having the foregoing configurations has the followingeffects.

In the exemplary embodiments, about a half each of the shoulder, thebody, and the bottom on one side of the bottle molded by the containermanufacturer can be concaved into the inside of the shell section, andthe entire bottle can be fully flattened for volume reduction, byreversing the reversible section inward.

When bottles are handled in the fully flattened, volume-reduced state,the space of occupancy can be greatly decreased. This lowers the costsof storage and transportation, and makes bottle handling easy andefficient, during the processes followed until bottles are filled withliquid content.

After the reversible section has been restored to the original shape andthe bottle has been used as a container, the reversible section is againconcaved into the inside of the shell section, and the bottle is fullyflattened, with volume reduced, and is put to waste disposal. Anyoneshould be able to fully flatten the bottle after use and dispose of thebottle as waste easily and efficiently.

In the exemplary embodiments, the reversible section protrudes in asemi-arc shape as seen in the plan view. This reversible section can bedeformed and concaved into the inside of the shell section, which alsoprotrudes in a semi-arc shape, but at a larger diameter than thereversible section. Since the entire bottle can be flattened in acertain shape, and since the flat bottles can be piled up, the storageand transportation of unused bottles and the disposal of used bottlescan be efficiently carried out at a lower cost than usual.

In the exemplary embodiments, the neck is disposed on the shell sectionside. This makes it possible for the entire bottle to be flattenedwithout crushing up the neck. Because of this configuration, it hasbecome possible to deform and concave approximately a half of the entirebottle, including the shoulder, the body, and the bottom.

In the exemplary embodiments, the neck has also the shell section andthe reversible section of its own. In such a configuration, it ispossible to make the entire bottle sufficiently flat over all the heightfrom neck to bottom.

In the exemplary embodiments, two lines of turn are provided, and theright and left reversible sections are concaved into the inside of thecentral shell section. Both reversible sections are concaved and storedin the inside of the central shell section of a rectangular shape in itsplan view, which includes the bottom. Therefore, it becomes possible forthe bottle to be fully concaved for volume reduction. Even in thevolume-reduced state, the bottle can fully stand on its own and has goodhandling ability.

In the exemplary embodiments, the laminated bottle wall has higherrigidity than the non-laminated wall, namely, the wall portion of thebottle that has been molded to have usual thin walls. Since there is noneed of changing the wall thickness of the bottle itself for bothsections, bottles can be easily molded by an ordinary blow moldingmethod while maintaining high productivity.

In the exemplary embodiments, a label attached to the outer surface ofthe body is used to form the shell section. In this case, the shellsection can be formed easily and at a low cost. Furthermore, since awide area can be secured for the label display, high decorative anddisplay effects can be obtained.

In addition, the rigidity of the shell section is fully enhanced, andthe bottle shows high shape-holding power. Because of these features,the bottle shape becomes stabilized and constant when the bottle isdeformed for volume reduction and also when it is restored to theoriginal shape. The bottle can be allowed to have thin walls with nodifficulty, by making the label serve as a structural material.

In the exemplary embodiments, both of the shell section and thereversible section can be formed simultaneously at the time when thebottle is molded. Depending on the portions of the bottle, the ratio ofwall thickness between the shell section and the reversible section canbe changed to make fine adjustments to the rigidity of both sections. Asa result, the reversible section can be concaved into the inside of theshell section and restored to the original shape quite easily.

In the exemplary embodiments, the line of turn comprises a sloped step.This line makes it quite easy to reverse and deform the reversiblesection, which can be smoothly concaved and then restored to itsoriginal shape. Since the reversible section is concavely reversed withno permanent deformation, there is no damage to the outer appearancecaused by deformation.

In the exemplary embodiments, the line of turn comprises a shallowV-shaped groove. Because of this configuration, reversible sections canbe easily and precisely reversed and deformed into and out of the shellsection.

1. A blow-molded synthetic resin bottle, comprising: a shoulder; abottom; a body located between the shoulder and the bottom; and at leastone line of turn formed on the shoulder, the body, and the bottom alongan entire vertical circumference of the bottle, and dividing the bottleinto sections, the sections including: at least one shell sectionlocated on one side of the line of turn, the shell section having arelatively high rigidity; at least one reversible section located onanother side of the line of turn, the reversible section having arelatively low rigidity such that the reversible section is deformableby resilient reversion; and a neck disposed only on a portion of theshoulder that is located on the one side of the line of turn in whichthe shell section is located, wherein the reversible section may beeasily deformed from an original shape to a concave shape that may bereceived by the shell section and then restored back to the originalshape by the resilient reversion, wherein the bottle is molded from arelatively soft synthetic resin so as to have a thin wall, and wherein amajority of at least one of an inner surface and an outer surface of theshell section is substantially laminated with another layer.
 2. Theblow-molded synthetic resin bottle according to claim 1, wherein theline of turn is disposed at a position that divides each of theshoulder, the body, and the bottom into two substantially equal, rightand left parts, wherein the shell section comprises a major-diameterportion that is a half portion of the bottle located on the one side ofthe line of turn, and forms a first substantially arc-shaped convexsurface with a first diameter, and wherein the reversible sectioncomprises a minor-diameter portion that is another half portion of thebottle located on the other side of the line of turn, and forms a secondsubstantially arc-shaped convex surface with a second external diametersmaller than the first diameter.
 3. The blow-molded synthetic resinbottle according to claim 1, wherein the line of turn comprises a pairof lines of turn formed at substantially symmetrical positions on theshoulder, the body, and the bottom to divide the bottle into thesections, and wherein the shell section comprises a central portion ofthe bottle where side walls of the body face each other, and thereversible section comprises two reversible sections disposed onopposing sides of the shell section, each of the reversible sectionsincluding an arc-shaped convex surface that protrudes outwards for alength equal to about half of the side wall width of the shell section.4. The blow-molded synthetic resin bottle according to claim 1, whereina relatively thick, hard label is laminated over an outer surface of thebottle.
 5. The blow-molded synthetic resin bottle according to claim 1,wherein the shell section is molded to include a relatively thick wall,and the reversible section is molded to have a relatively thin wall. 6.The blow-molded synthetic resin bottle according to claim 1, wherein theline of turn comprises a sloped step.
 7. The synthetic resin bottleaccording to claim 1, wherein the line of turn comprises a shallowV-shape groove.